‘W’hat’s the deal with Ogden’s new letter on the mountain?

OGDEN, Utah (ABC4) — Utah is known for having large letters on the side of many mountains and Ogden is no exception, with a new, permanent ‘W’ to represent Weber State University.

From ‘The Y’ in Provo to ‘The U’ in Salt Lake City, block letters have become a trademark of many Utah universities, high schools, and cities and act as a fun landmark for locals and visitors alike throughout Utah. Ogden is the latest to join the trend of block letters, with a ‘W’ installation permanently lighting up the hillside.

The ‘W’ was in construction since 2024 and had its first official lighting on September 20, 2025, but it’s history goes back almost a century.

According to Weber State University (WSU), students first ignited a flaming ‘W’ on the hillside in 1937, using kerosene and burlap sacks. In the decades since, Weber State’s community has used rocks, plants, flares, to make a ‘W’, though the flares reportedly started a brush fire in 1967.

They have also used electric lights to temporarily light the ‘W’ during homecoming week, though it was reportedly a difficult process to remove and re-install each year.

Now, the ‘W’ is permanent and is comprised of 284 solar panels, which generate nearly 129,000 kilowatt-hours of clean energy and helps power the Dee Events Center.

The ‘W’. Courtesy: Weber State University

At 150 feet tall and 100 feet wide, the ‘W’ acts as “a shining reminder of Weber State University’s enduring presence in Ogden and beyond”, according to WSU. It also has various colors and light patterns with different meanings.

Typically, the ‘W’ will be solid white from dusk until 10 p.m. every day. But, during homecoming week in October and WSU’s Founders Day on January 7, it will be solid purple.

When Weber State’s NCAA teams have a home victory, the ‘W’ will flash purple and white and on graduation days in December and April, it will be a flaming purple and white. On some occasions, described as “things like sky observation and other academic and community events”, the ‘W’ will be turned off.

More information on the ‘W’ can be found here.

Other Utah hillside letters

While Utah isn’t the only state to have hillside letters, it has some of the most. Here is a list of some of the more notable ones.

‘The Y’: Not only is the ‘Y’ in Provo a great hiking spot, but it also represents the students and fans of Brigham Young University (BYU). According to BYU’s website, students and faculty have been hiking to the Y since 1924 and it has become an annual tradition for many.

The U: BYU’s rivalry school, the University of Utah (UofU) also totes a representative letter nearby the campus, built in 1907. The iconic ‘U’ was initially made of boulders and limestone but is now a concrete monument that has built-in LED lights that are lit white for away game wins and red for home game wins.

Top right: Students gather at the Block U, via University of Utah. Bottom right: The ‘Y’ mountain, via KTVX. Left: Hole N” The Rock via KTVX.

Hole N” the Rock: While this isn’t a painted letter, the “Hole N” The Rock” painting is a sight to see for many of the people driving near Moab. This attraction features large painted letters, a 5,000 square foot home carved into the mountain, a gift shop, and a zoo.

‘Dixie Rock’ at Sugarloaf: Painting the Sugarloaf rocks in St. George has been a pastime since the early 1900s, with locals painting the word ‘Dixie’ on it to represent Dixie High School and then- Dixie State University. While the university has been renamed to Utah Tech University, reportedly due to the correlation between ‘Dixieland’ and the Confederate states, the painted rock remains very visible and often visited.